


Guillotine: Inspired by Elentori-art

by jedimasterkat



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood and Injury, Cuban Lance, I really liked writing it though, I think the injury is mildly described, I'm a nurse so I tried to do mild at least lol, It's a really cute song, Lance kinda sings a song to Keith, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, character injury, elentori-art, foster kid Keith, i don't know what to tag this tbh, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 08:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9064000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedimasterkat/pseuds/jedimasterkat
Summary: Keith blinked again, this time focusing in on the person’s mouth. They were speaking to him but the words weren’t getting past the ringing. He couldn’t focus enough to try to figure out what they were saying, but he could see them lift their head to scream out to the desert-like landscape. Screaming his name, screaming for someone else, screaming for help. *It worked…. I saved him… Lance is safe…*





	

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays Elentori! Your Guillotine piece really inspired me and I went to town writing this. Thank you for all the art you create!
> 
> tumblr: jedimasterkatwrites  
> twitter: @jedimasterkat7
> 
> This is set up in parts and I made sure to note the time frames. Links to everything is right below here. 
> 
>  
> 
> Art by Elentori
> 
>  
> 
> Song: Guillotine (Acoustic version) by Jon Bellion
> 
>  
> 
> Song Lance sings at Part 5: Better Together by Jack Johnson

**Prologue: Guillotine**

When Keith opened his eyes the dust was already settling. The first thing he noticed was that he couldn’t hear. An incessant ringing filled his ears and his head was throbbing. The second thing he noticed was that someone was touching him. The hands were strong, yet soft as they pushed his hair away from his eyes and brushed down the side of his face. He opened his eyes, squinting at the sudden brightness from the orange sky.

_This feels… warm. Maybe I’m dreaming...  maybe I’ll just fall back asleep…_

The warm person obviously did not agree, because they began shaking his shoulders the second he had shut his eyes again. Keith forced himself to peel back his eyelids once more and tried to focus on the situation through the deafening sound tormenting his brain.

_Okay okay, we came to this planet. It didn’t have any signs of the Galra but then… Yea they did show up… and…. HOLY QUIZNAK_

Upon the realization of what he’d been doing, Keith shot up from his lying position. The second he started thinking about moving, his body screamed back in protest. He felt his mouth open as he yelled out in pain, and the person pushed his upper body back down onto their legs. Once again his mind was swimming and he forced himself to fight off the nausea. After closing his eyes for another minute, he reopened them to find himself staring into the deep blue of the ocean. The ocean blinked back down at him, spilling it’s water onto Keith’s face.

_The color of the ocean… am I… these are tears…._

Keith blinked again, this time focusing in on the person’s mouth. They were speaking to him but the words weren’t getting past the ringing. He couldn’t focus enough to try to figure out what they were saying, but he could see them lift their head to scream out to the desert-like landscape. Screaming his name, screaming for someone else, screaming for help.

_It worked…. I saved him… Lance is safe…_

 

**\----------------------------------**

 

Lance was holding Keith’s head in his lap, stroking the side of his face and holding a piece of cloth to the back of his bleeding head and trying not to stare at Keith’s leg.

“Keith please wake up. You have to wake up, you have to.” His voice cracked as he spoke to the boy in his arms.

The planet they were on was supposed to have not been touched by the Galra. It was supposed to be a routine visit to set up the pact between the planet’s people and Voltron. It wasn’t though. It was a set-up.

_Stay awake Keith. Please stay with me._

The red paladin suddenly shot up after Lance had shook him slightly to keep him awake. His eyes were panicked as he let out a pained scream. Lance pushed him back down onto his legs, surveying the rest of his body.

_Keith isn't supposed to sound like this. He’s not supposed to look like this._

A large piece of shrapnel from a sign nearby had lodged itself into the side of Keith’s leg. Dark blood oozed out around the metal at the sudden movement and Keith continued to let out pained sounds. The ground beneath him had turned into a rust-colored, matted mess of blood and dirt.  The red paladin’s struggling gaze met his eyes as tears fell from Lance’s.

“Keith… HUNK!! ALLURA!! ANYONE!!! IT’S KEITH!! PLEASE ANYONE!! He…. He needs help…” He screamed out to the barren desert. The one that looked so much like back home but felt far from it.

Lance could see Keith’s small smile looking up at him from the corner of his eye as he yelled, but he was more focused on the black lion racing their direction. He missed the moment Keith had whispered his name as Shiro jumped out and helped carry the injured paladin into the large lion.

_It was supposed to be me._

* * *

** 1: Sleep on me, feel the rhythm in my chest, just breathe **

Lance crept down the hallway, glancing around every so often to make sure no one else was out. Once he reached his destination, he quietly rapped his knuckles on the door.

“Keith… Keith are you awake?” Once again his eyes darted to the side, then back to the door in front of him. _Dammit Lance, it’s not a big deal, why are you so-_ His thoughts were interrupted by the sliding noise and he immediately straightened himself.

“What do you want?” Keith’s voice was raspy from not speaking for the past month. _Well 23 days to be exact._ He looked skinnier, paler, and there were dark circles under his eyes. Lance faltered at his appearance.

“Can… can I come in? I mean I know that’s kinda a weird question but I figured since it’s your first day out of the pod and everything someone should check on you and yea now I’m rambling right?” The blue paladin let out a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

Keith simply nodded, and stepped to the side. Lance stepped into the room slowly, very aware of Keith’s eyes on him. The door sliding shut broke through the silence as Lance grabbed the chair at the desk and pulled it closer to Keith’s bed. The raven-haired boy sat back on his bed, criss-crossing his legs, leaning back on his hands, and sighing loudly.

“I guess I never really told you thanks. I don’t remember much but… I remember it was you.” Keith glanced sideways as Lance widened his eyes in response but his face softened into a small smile.

“Just returning the favor. Can’t exactly call it a bonding moment but I did cradle you in my arms.” Keith’s purple eyes met Lance’s blue ones and his smile fell once more. “Let’s try to avoid death cradling from now on, though?” The blue paladin leaned his head over the back of the chair and placed his hands over his face. Keith watched him silently. As the minutes ticked by, Keith’s eyes grew heavier and heavier. He’d been asleep for a long time, but the emotional exhaustion was taking a toll on him finally. Lance’s frantic voice woke him back up.

“Can I sleep with you!? I mean, not like, sleep with you, but you know just, in here so I know… so I know you’re still here.” Lance brought his hands down quickly and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He peered down at the floor, tapping his feet together and hoping he didn’t sound like an idiot.

“I think... I would like that. I’m… I’m kinda scared once I fall asleep again I won’t wake back up.” Keith pulled his knees up to his chest and brought his head down. He hated admitting his weakness, especially to Lance, but it was well known that he and the blue paladin had been getting along better. Shiro had mentioned that Lance never left the healing pod room. He jumped suddenly at Lance’s hands on his shoulders.

“You will wake up. I know you will. I didn’t wait for you for so long just so you could... “ Lance bit his lip, struggling for the words. Keith wasn’t sure what to say. “Why did you do it?” Keith looked up at the question. He wasn’t sure he wanted Lance to know why he did it yet but he would give him the best explanation he could.

“You would’ve done the same for me.” Lance’s tight grip slowly softened. “Just get up here, okay? I’m tired and we can talk about this later.” Keith scooted over and lifted the blanket enough to get his legs under as Lance did the same. They laid on their backs for a moment, neither moving and their breathing was the only sound.

“Is it okay if I listen to your heart?” Lance turned on his side, facing Keith. Keith looked over at his face, and worry was written all over it.

“Yea. I guess. Yea, that’s fine.” Lance moved over so his upper body was lying over Keith’s. He could feel the red paladin tense beneath him for a moment before he heard him let out a breath and relax. Lance placed his head on Keith’s chest, hearing the deep thrumming the reverberated through his body. It was relaxing, and reassuring. Keith shifted so Lance’s body fit better along his side, and Lance placed his hands by Keith’s shoulders.

“Thank you, Keith.” Lance breathed in and out with Keith, matching the pace of his breathing, and they fell asleep to the rhythm of their hearts.

* * *

 

** 2: And I will stay, so the lantern in your heart won’t fade **

It was all a blur as they raced Keith to the healing pod. One second Lance was screaming on the ground, and the next they were in the healing pod room in the castle. The rest of the paladin’s had returned at Shiro’s signal, and quickly followed once they realized the situation. Coran had helped them get the jagged metal piece out of Keith’s leg. Keith had passed out shortly after he screamed at the pain. Lance’s throat still burned from the stomach acid of his violent retching. He could blame it on his ears ringing from the explosion still, but he knew it was due to the way Coran had ripped the metal from his leg, and the way the blood spilled out from the jagged flesh. It was the vile reminder of what had happened, of the pain and fear he felt in his heart. A pain he shared for Keith, and a pain he shouldn’t have. Not for just a friend anyways.

“Why did you do that Keith!? Why the fuck did you jump in front of me?!?” Lance was banging on the glass now, tears streaming down his face as he slumped to the floor in anger and sadness. Shiro stood directly to his right, while Coran pressed on the buttons to the left. Hunk, Pidge, and Allura stood slightly behind them. The heavy feeling of anxiety hung in the air. Lance felt suffocated. Suffocated by his own feelings, and suffocated by the people around him, the people that he had let down by letting his partner get injured.

“Lance, it wasn’t your-” He cut off Shiro’s words.

“If I just had better aim, or if I had a different weapon… maybe if I had done something else or… or been more helpful…” His voice softened as Shiro put his hands on his shoulder and looked at him.

“Don’t Lance. Don’t do that to yourself. If you want to be helpful, do you think you could tell us what happened? We need to make sure there wasn’t anything else that could be harming Keith, like poison or anything of the sorts. Can you do it?” Lance looked up to meet his leader’s eyes. He really didn’t want to go through it again, but if it meant helping Keith… Lance nodded and the rest moved closer as he leaned his back against the pod and sat down more comfortably.

“Well you already know that we had gone off to check on the side towns while you guys started your meeting in the main city. We left the lions a little outside so we wouldn’t cause too much of a disturbance, and then we started walking into the first town. Before we even got there we were attacked.” Lance paused as the others nodded at him to continue. This was where it got hard. “He was throwing some grenade-type thing at us. Keith got his shield up and he was able to to knock the first one away. After we got our bayards out, the Galran jumped out and we couldn’t get close enough to him for Keith to fight so I took up the long range fighting while Keith tried to keep the grenades away from us. He was too fast, though. Keith brought red over to cover us while we tried to come up with a strategy. But the Galran… there was no way we could move fast enough, and Red was still too far away. The grenade was coming at us and Keith… he pushed me back, and started running. Red reached me first while Keith tried to knock the grenade away. But it was too late… and the last thing… I’m sorry I…” Lance covered his face as he tried to push Keith’s face out of his head. The words that rolled off his lips and he smiled back at him. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He didn’t want to think about how it was his fault. How he couldn’t do anything. How Keith was willing to die for him. Lance couldn’t think about it anymore. He pulled his legs up, hugging them closely to his shaking body.

“Lance, why don’t you get cleaned up and eat. I’ll make something, and I’ll bring it here, wherever you want, you can rest, or-” 

“No!” Lance felt guilty as he watched Hunk shrink back at his outburst. “No… I need to stay here. I need to make sure….” He looked back up at the red paladin’s softened face. If only he were just sleeping. If only he wasn’t fighting for his life.

“I’ll stay here while they check on you, Lance. You need to be checked out for any wounds as well. You can get cleaned up and then come straight back, okay? No one will leave Keith alone.” Shiro’s strong voice echoed out in the large room, and Lance couldn’t argue with that. Shiro was Keith’s first family, and he had a right to stay too. Lance slowly stood up, balancing on his shaky legs that didn’t feel like his own. Hunk grabbed his shoulder, and led him to the opposite side of the room before he led Lance to get cleaned up. Hunk stayed nearby as Lance quickly showered and changed. He couldn’t get back to the pod room fast enough.

Hunk brought food for him once he returned to Keith’s side, and that’s where he stayed, in the room lit up by the state of Keith’s heart. _Please don’t fade away._

* * *

 

** 3: The secrets you tell me, I’ll take to my grave **

_*2 weeks before Keith's injury*_

Keith slid in front of the window, looking out at the expanse of the universe in front of him. It had been a long day, but sleep evaded him. The footsteps of his companion echoed down the hall as he continued to stare out into space.

“Long day, huh?” Lance winced as he set himself with his legs crossed and leaning on the glass beside Keith in their window seat. It had become a routine for them to come here. Something familiar, something friendly.

“You sure you shouldn’t be in bed? You took a hard hit today.” Keith tried to look nonchalant, but he really was worried about him. Lance wasn’t built to be a shield, yet he had put himself in front today, regardless of his long range weapon and constant denies from Keith and the team.

“Hey, I didn’t even need the healing pod, that’s pretty good compared to other times!” Lance joked lightly, but the ghost of pain was settled on his face. Keith was watching him as he pulled his own knees up to his chest and placed his arm across them, and Lance was well aware of his gaze.

“There shouldn’t be any other times…” Keith mumbled quietly into his arm. Lance squinted his eyes at Keith.

“Well it’s not like I can help it, I didn’t ask to come here but we’ve got a job to do.” Lance leaned closer to Keith and Keith rolled his eyes.

“Well if you’d quit trying to be everyone knight in shining armor and maybe we could avoid it more.” Lance’s shoulders relaxed a little as he mulled over Keith’s words, although he rolled his eyes at the knight in shining armor comment.

“I just… I can’t lose another family, okay? And you’re the one trying to be the knight in shining armor, mister jump ahead of everyone all the time and try to take on Zarkon by himself.” Lance looked back out at the stars with a scrunched up face, and Keith couldn’t help but stare. The dim light of the hallway reflected off the glass and back into Lance’s deep, blue eyes. Keith wasn’t sure what had always drawn him to Lance. Perhaps it was his extroverted personality, something Keith didn’t have. Or the way he portrayed confidence in everything he did, no matter his skill level, no matter if he knew it wasn’t going to turn out the way he wanted. Sometimes Keith couldn’t help but want to be close to him, and that’s the reason he stayed away for so long. If Lance liked something, he let you know, and Lance had made it known from day one that Keith didn’t make the cut. But, it turned out that Lance was more complex than Keith originally thought. He truly was like the water, with unimaginable things hidden underneath, and countless ways to express himself. And maybe that’s really why Keith couldn’t stay away in the end. The way Lance showed himself to Keith was different, and Keith loved him for it. Every tap of his finger, every fidget of his feet, every emotion displayed on his face, Keith was able to witness it all here, in their window seat in the dark.

“Can I tell you a secret? Well… I guess it’s not really a secret, but I haven’t really told anyone this before.” Keith scooted a little closer to Lance, worried of anyone overhearing although they were the only one’s there. Lance nodded. “My parents died when I was really young. I’m not really sure what happened, just that I was in the foster system ever since I could remember. I was in and out of homes. No one wanted a kid with behavior problems.” Keith made hand quotation marks as he said behavior problem. “I was just… alone. Alone and angry. I didn’t know why I was here, why things happened to me like they did. School was the only thing I had. If I did good in school, people noticed me. That was the longest I’d ever been with a family. So I excelled. I got all A’s. I never missed a day of school. I got first place in a big wig science fair in high school, and that’s when I met Shiro. He told me I should look into the garrison. That I would get in no problem. Shiro gave me something to hope for. He was the first person that I could actually say cared about me. So after I turned 18 and graduated I headed straight for the Galaxy Garrison. Shiro helped me out with getting there, and the rest is history.” Keith motioned to the window. “Anyways, I guess what I was trying to say, was that you guys are my only family. I would do anything for you guys. But if you died, if any of you died because of me… I couldn’t live with myself. So don’t do it, Lance. Don’t put yourself in front of me. Don’t try to one-up me. I know I’m impulsive, and I know I can jump into things without thinking, but my weapon is short-ranged, and the best thing you can do is have my back.” Keith took a breath. _Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever said that much in one breath to Lance aaand I definitely just said me._ Lance was watching Keith. His eyes were wide as he took in the information. _Great, I said too much._

“I… I guess I never thought about it like that. I know we’re a team, I just get so wrapped up keeping you safe, and you make me so frustrated when you try to take everything head on. Well, everyone, I didn’t mean just you… Yea um, anyways…” Lance rubbed the back of his head nervously and glanced to the side. “I’ll try to back off. I mean, stay by your side. Be a team. Thank you, Keith. Really, thank you for telling me.” Lance had shifted himself a little closer so they were sitting with their legs touching. “Can I tell you a secret too?” Lance had leaned in to place his mouth by Keith’s ear as he nodded. His breath ghosted across Keith’s skin, and a shiver ran through Keith’s body. Lance’s hand rested on Keith’s other shoulder, and it was almost too much for him to handle. _Stay calm, Keith, you can do this. It’s just one second, you’ve made it this far without kissing that shit eating grin off his face, you can do it again now._

“I feel like someone’s listening, probably Pidge, but I wanted you to know that I don’t mind. Being your knight in shining armor, you know. I would do anything for you, Keith.” The red paladin froze at his words, and Lance’s warm body moved away again. A slight blush ran across his cheeks as he sat back. Keith could feel his face warming up as well and he was scared to meet Lance’s eyes.

“Thanks… I’m, um, gonna try to sleep now I think. And you should too if you wanna get back to training anytime soon. I do need a training partner nowadays.” Keith wasn’t good with words, and he was at a loss for them as he tried to calm his beating heart. He smiled at Lance as he stood from the window seat, and Lance smiled back.

“You better be ready to get your ass handed to you!” Lance stood slowly as he threatened Keith playfully, and Keith let out a laugh as he waited. Their voices and laughter echoed as Lance laid his hand on Keith’s arm, and they strolled down the hallway, back to their rooms.

* * *

 

** 4: There’s bones in my closet but you hang stuff anyway **

“Lance, what’s this?” Keith took the jacket from his closet, holding it up to the boy that was currently sprawled over his bed and had looked up from the alien magazine he was skimming through.

“Uhh can you see okay Keith? It’s obviously my jacket.” Lance rolled his eyes and went back to his reading material. Keith huffed out a breath.

“That’s not what I meant, I meant what is it doing hanging in my closet?” The red paladin continued to stand with the jacket held in his left hand and his right hand on his hip.

“I’ve been sleeping in here for 2 weeks dude, I’m not going to leave my stuff in my room when it’s way easier to just leave it in here. It’s not like it takes up room anyways, we barely have anything in there.” Lance didn’t look back up as he spoke. Keith turned his back to Lance and set the jacket where it was, glancing around at the other contents in his closet as he did so. It wasn’t much, but it was all he needed. A couple of Lance’s things were littered on the ground as well.

“Are you sure you want to keep stuff in here? I mean, you could always go back whenever you want.” Keith crossed his arms over his stomach, ashamed at showing his insecurity in front of Lance. “There’s just bones in here.” He looked down at the ground as he whispered. The blue paladin’s arms wrapped around him, melting through the chill that had enveloped him. They stood there like that without speaking for a moment. Just Lance's arms around Keith, and his head resting on his shoulder as they looked into the dark closet. Keith’s past wasn’t one he told many people. The mysterious dagger he had always had, the broken childhood, getting booted from the garrison, living alone. It wasn’t a life people usually wanted into, but Lance was different. Lance didn’t judge him, despite their opposite backgrounds, he didn’t make Keith feel like a charity project, and he never pried, he just let Keith talk about it when he wanted to. There was never anyone like that in his life, aside from Shiro. Honestly, Keith was scared. He was far more attached to Lance than he had intended to be. Everytime he said something about himself, he was scared that Lance would change his mind, and that he would be alone with his skeletons once again.

“If I wanted to go back to my room I wouldn’t have moved stuff in here. I know you like to act like mister tough guy but it’s okay to be scared, and I don’t care about your past, Keith. I’m not forcing you to tell me anything, or even say anything, and I’m not forcing you to let me stay, but I want to stay.” Keith moved his hands and turned his back on the closet, facing Lance and repositioning himself into his arms. It was in moments like these where Keith didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sure what he was to Lance, and wasn’t sure what Lance was to him. You didn’t really get to talk about things like crushes and dating while you were defending the universe. It was dangerous to love when you didn’t know if you would survive the next day. But if Keith was good at anything, it was rushing into things without thinking it through, and this was one thing Keith wanted to take his time with. However, he didn’t think they had much time, so he let himself go.

“I want you to stay too.” Keith closed his eyes and they stood there, rocking back and forth until drowsiness persuaded them to continue their embrace in the warm seclusion of Keith’s bed.

* * *

 

** 5: And if you have nightmares, we’ll dance on the bed. I know that you love me, love me **

Keith woke up to an elbow in his stomach. His eyes shot open as the boy beside him thrashed in his sleep.

“Lance, wake up!” Keith quickly straddled Lance, holding him down as he yelled.

“Keith… Keith!!” Lance’s eyes were screwed shut as he whispered Keith’s name in distress. Keith grabbed the sides of Lance’s face and brought his forehead down to rest on Lance’s.

“Lance, please wake up. It’s just a nightmare, I’m right here. I’m right here.” Keith kept repeating the words to him, begging him to wake up. After a moment, the struggling ended. Keith straightened up and moved to Lance’s side again as the other boy sat up.

“I’m sorry…” Lance’s voice cracked as tears streamed down his face. Keith pulled him closer.

“You don’t have to apologize or talk about it. I understand.” Lance grabbed onto Keith like his life depended on it as he calmed down, and Keith let him. If there was one thing Keith understood, it was the nightmares. The constant fear of losing someone, the constant fear of dying. It was easy to ignore during missions, and during fights, but it always seemed to strike when you least expected it. It showed it’s face in a nightmare after a good day. It sneered at you through the veil of lifelessness in a Galra soldier’s body. It hung onto your shoulder as you embraced the person you loved, telling you that they would leave, or die. Keith was brought out of his thoughts by humming. He pulled back and held Lance at an arm’s length away from him.

“Are you… humming?” Keith looked at Lance, and boy did he look like he had just drank half a gallon of nunvill.

“Can we dance?” Lance smiled at Keith, placing one hand behind his back and taking Keith’s hand in his.

“Will it help you feel better?” Lance nodded at Keith’s question, and Keith let himself be lead by Lance’s movements on the bed. Lance continued his singing. It wasn’t a song Keith recognized, but he loved the way it sounded coming out of Lance’s mouth.

“Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together, mmm, we’re somewhere in between together... “ Lance’s voice cut through the humming every once in awhile. Keith blushed as Lance stared into his eyes, smiling and singing as they danced on the bed. Although Keith wasn’t sure if it even counted as dancing. They stood on their knees, and Keith could feel their legs sinking in the mattress towards each other as Lance led the movements of their upper bodies.

“I believe in memories… Hey now, and when I wake up, you look so pretty sleeping next to me…” Keith leaned in and placed his forehead on Lance’s, smiling at his words. _This is a love song…_

And before Keith knew it Lance had stopped singing and their lips were centimeters away from touching. Lance breath was hot on his face, and it sent shivers down Keith’s spine. Keith froze for a moment, weighing the consequences, but he closed the gap regardless, relaxing at the warmth that radiated throughout his body. Lance’s hand moved up his arm to his shoulder, and Keith leaned further into him, savoring the taste of Lance’s lips, and never wanting to let go. Keith had been waiting months for this. No moment seemed to be the right one, and maybe that had been the problem. Keith had actually spent too much time thinking about something for once. There wasn’t a right moment. Hell, they were two kids who got thrown into space, there was no such thing as a right moment for them. The right moment was now, though. It was the way Lance’s lips moved on his, the way Lance’s touch lit a fire on his skin, and the way Lance had looked at him like there was no one else in the universe.

**\--------------------------------**

Lance was surprised Keith closed the distance, although his rushing into things shouldn’t surprise him anymore. Although with how long Lance had wanted to kiss him he wasn’t sure it could be called “rushing into things”. Lance was tired of waiting. Tired of the back and forth between them, of what was and wasn’t acceptable for two friends who happened to spoon every night and wake up tangled in each other’s arms. Friends who loved each other much more than friends should. Friends who wanted to- _Nope nope, do not go there Lance, back that mind up._

Jack Johnson’s “Better Together” rang through his mind as he held onto Keith. He wasn’t sure how he remembered the song at a time like this, but they were better together. Lance found a home away from home with Keith, and he was going to pour those feelings into every second of this kiss. Lance’s heart lit up as soon as Keith’s mouth moved on his. The affirmation that Keith wanted this just as much as him was all he needed. If it wasn’t for the burning in his lungs, Lance would’ve never pulled back.

Their faces stayed close as they caught their breath, and Lance could see the ghost of a smile on Keith’s mouth. His lips were a deep red, and his face matched. Keith managed to take his breath away when he didn’t have much more breath to give. Even as they had gotten closer, Lance never got to see Keith’s smile as much as he wanted to. And his laugh? Lance would kill if anyone took that laugh away from him. His lifelong goal of making Keith laugh had been achieved, and Lance’s new goal was to make sure he laughed and smiled for the rest of his life. Although he wouldn’t mind kissing the smile off his mouth again…

  
“So that happened.” Keith’s voice broke through the sound of their breathing, and Lanced smiled wider, pushing away his thoughts for the moment.

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do that?” Keith laughed at that. A genuine, Keith laugh rang into Lance’s ears, and it cut through the remaining fear of his nightmare that had settled into the back of his mind.

“No way, I’ve been wanting to kiss that shit-eating grin off your face for months.” Lance tapped Keith’s forehead at that statement, and Keith grimaced as he pushed away Lance’s hand.

“Whatever, babe.” Lance smirked as Keith shrunk back into his blush at the pet name.

“If you call me that in front of everyone I will be knocking that shit-eating grin off in a more painful way.” Keith crossed his arms over his chest, but was quickly tackled back down to the bed by Lance, who wrapped his arms around Keith and snuggled his face into Keith’s neck.

“Let’s let you finish getting your beauty sleep. I can tell when you’re extra grumpy.” Keith blew out a breath at Lance’s words. “Goodnight, mi amor. Thank you.” Lance brought Keith’s hand from in front of him and leaned his head forward to place a kiss on it. Keith relaxed and settled into Lance.

“Goodnight, Lance.” Keith squeezed Lance’s hand as they drifted off into sleep once again to the sound of Lance’s light humming.

* * *

 

** 6: Even when I lose my head **

_*3 weeks later*_

Keith’s eyes were open, but he couldn’t move. The sight of Lance being shot down played over and over in front of his blind, open eyes. He gasped for breath at the sight of the person he loved the most dying, over and over and over. Suddenly, a voice broke through the sounds of his screams.

“Keith, I’m here. I’m right here, please come back to me.” Lance’s arms wrapped around him as soon as he shot up from his paralyzed position. Keith brought his head into his hands, his mind filled with the images, and his breath coming raggedly from his throat. Lance’s warmth made it easier to ground himself as he calmed his breathing.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lance’s questioning voice entered his mind, and Keith shook his head.

“Can we dance instead?” Keith felt Lance’s breathy laugh on his neck after he asked the question.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” Lance loosened his grip as Keith turned around to face him.

“I don’t know, I’m not the one who didn’t remember our bonding moment.” Keith smirked at Lance as they took up their dancing stances.

“You know I never forgot right? I just didn’t wanna think about it in front of everyone cause I was embarrassed. It was sweet, and I wasn’t ready to face my feelings for you yet honestly. I also kinda thought I was going to die so there’s that too.” Lance glanced sideways to where his and Keith’s hands were joined.

“I went all this time thinking you totally forgot!! You’re lucky you’re making up for it, I may not have forgiven you.” Keith stuck his tongue out at Lance as his humming began.

“You totally would’ve forgiven me, babe. I know you love me.” Lance leaned forward and kissed Keith’s cheek as he mocked him playfully. Keith leaned forward into Lance to hide his blush as they moved in sync to Lance’s singing.

“Yea… I do. I love you, Lance.” Keith smiled as Lance sang the song that started it all.

Through everything they had been through, through all the times Keith had lost his head, through all the ups and the downs, Lance was there. Lance, with his open arms, his warm smile, and his shining eyes. The person Keith could let his defenses down in front of, the person that made Keith laugh, the person that made Keith feel like the brightest star in the sky. Keith loved every inch of him, and Lance loved every inch of Keith, skeletons and all. Keith had a reason to live besides saving the universe, and he was going to fight for it. He was going to fight for Lance. Keith never really cared about returning to Earth until he heard Lance talk about how his family would love him, and how they could spend hours at the beach, in the sun. The way they would share the garlic knots, and the way they would fall asleep together to the sound of the sea. How Lance was sure Keith would sunburn in 5 minutes, and if he did Lance would slap the shit out of it to make sure Keith would wear sunscreen the next time. Keith would fight so that he could be there with Lance, with his family, smiling in the bright rays of the sun, with the turquoise sea softly lapping at the sand behind him. Keith would never stop fighting to live, to keep Lance’s smile on his face and in his life.


End file.
